[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6486-H6493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUPPORTING UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 990) supporting the officers and personnel who 
carry out the important mission of the United States Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 990

       Whereas the national security interests of the United 
     States are dependent on the brave men and women who enforce 
     our Nation's immigration laws;
       Whereas abolishing United States Immigration and Customs 
     Enforcement (ICE) would mean open borders because it would 
     eliminate the main agency responsible for removing people who 
     enter or remain in our country illegally;
       Whereas calls to abolish ICE are an insult to these heroic 
     law enforcement officers who make sacrifices every day to 
     secure our borders, enforce our laws, and protect our safety 
     and security;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would allow dangerous criminal 
     aliens, including violent and ruthless members of the MS-13 
     gang, to remain in American communities;
       Whereas during fiscal year 2017, ICE Enforcement and 
     Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens 
     with criminal convictions or charges;
       Whereas ICE ERO made 5,225 administrative arrests of 
     suspected gang members in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas criminal aliens arrested by ICE ERO in fiscal year 
     2017 were responsible for more than--
       (1) 76,000 dangerous drug offenses;
       (2) 48,000 assault offenses;
       (3) 11,000 weapon offenses;
       (4) 5,000 sexual assault offenses;
       (5) 2,000 kidnapping offenses; and
       (6) 1,800 homicide offenses;
       Whereas ICE Homeland Security Investigations made 4,818 
     gang-related arrests in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas ICE identified or rescued 904 sexually exploited 
     children;
       Whereas ICE identified or rescued 518 victims of human 
     trafficking;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would mean that countless illegal 
     aliens who could pose a threat to public safety would be 
     allowed to roam free instead of being removed from American 
     soil;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would mean more dangerous illegal 
     drugs flowing into our communities, causing more Americans to 
     needlessly suffer;
       Whereas ICE plays a critical role in combatting the drug 
     crisis facing our Nation;
       Whereas ICE seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in 
     fiscal year 2017, including thousands of pounds of the deadly 
     drugs fueling the opioid crisis;
       Whereas ICE seized 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 
     pounds of heroin in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas ICE logged nearly 90,000 investigative hours 
     directed toward fentanyl in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would leave these drugs in our 
     communities to cause more devastation;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would mean eliminating the agency 
     that deports aliens that pose a terrorist threat to the 
     United States;
       Whereas ICE was created in 2003 to better protect national 
     security and public safety after the 9/11 terrorists 
     exploited immigration laws to gain entry into the United 
     States;
       Whereas the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks found 
     that many of the 9/11 hijackers committed visa violations;
       Whereas ICE identifies dangerous individuals before they 
     enter our country and locates them as they violate our 
     immigration laws; and
       Whereas abolishing ICE would enable the hundreds of 
     thousands of foreign nationals who illegally overstay their 
     visa each year to remain in the United States indefinitely: 
     Now, therefore, be it

[[Page H6487]]

       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its continued support for all United States 
     Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and 
     personnel who carry out the important mission of ICE;
       (2) denounces calls for the abolishment of ICE; and
       (3) supports the efforts of all Federal agencies, State law 
     enforcement, and military personnel who bring law and order 
     to our Nation's borders.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on H. Res. 990, currently under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 990 introduced by Clay 
Higgins to express our support for the men and women of the U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  Recently, Democrats nationwide, from the mayor of New York City to 
Senators Gillibrand and Warren, have recklessly called for the 
abolishment of ICE, the agency within the Department of Homeland 
Security charged with enforcing Federal immigration laws within our 
Nation's interior.
  They have used rhetoric that is both bewildering and deeply 
troubling. New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon has gone so 
far as to call ICE a ``terrorist organization.'' The Democratic 
candidate for the 14th Congressional District of New York just 
yesterday stated: ``We have to occupy all of it. We need to occupy 
every airport. We need to occupy every border. We need to occupy every 
ICE office. . . . ''
  What is remarkable is that these calls would undo what has been our 
singular bipartisan achievement on immigration over the last two 
decades--the creation of ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  The late Barbara Jordan was one of the most distinguished persons 
ever to serve in this body. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom and NAACP's highest honor, the Spingarn Medal for highest and 
noblest achievement by a living African American. She was appointed by 
President Clinton to be chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration 
Reform. Her commission found that:

       Immigration law enforcement requires staffing, training, 
     resources, and a work culture that differs from what is 
     required for effective adjudication of immigration benefits. 
     Separating enforcement and benefits functions will lead to 
     more effective enforcement.
       The commission is particularly concerned that although the 
     removal system produced more than 100,000 final removal 
     orders each year, the system did not have the corresponding 
     capacity to remove the individuals subject to those orders.

  It noted that:

       The system is bogged down with increasing numbers of aliens 
     who are put into removal proceedings, released due to a lack 
     of detention space, and never appear at their hearings, or 
     are never deported after a final order of removal is issued. 
     We must enable the immigration system to deliver better on 
     its commitment to actually remove those who are issued final 
     orders.

  Those are the words of Barbara Jordan's Commission.
  Following upon the Barbara Jordan Commission's recommendation, Sheila 
Jackson Lee introduced the Immigration Restructuring and Accountability 
Act establishing an Office of Immigration Enforcement to:

       Implement the removal of deportable and inadmissible aliens 
     from the United States.

  Ms. Jackson Lee has stated:

       I have been a champion for years when it comes to 
     restructuring the Immigration and Naturalization Service. I 
     have been arguing for years that we need to separate out 
     services and enforcement functions of the INS.

  In 2001, then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner 
introduced the Barbara Jordan Immigration Reform and Accountability Act 
which proposed to abolish the INS and established separate offices for 
immigration enforcement and the provision of immigration benefits. The 
bill was a bipartisan juggernaut. It passed the Judiciary Committee by 
a vote of 32-2 and this body by a vote of 405-9.
  Alcee Hastings stated during floor consideration that:

       I want to commend the authors of this bill. They have 
     produced a bipartisan bill that is sure to improve 
     performance and accountability. I think Mr. Sensenbrenner and 
     Mr. Conyers have done an outstanding job.

  The Barbara Jordan Immigration Reform and Accountability Act was, in 
effect, enacted into law as part of the Homeland Security Act. In 
creating DHS, it transferred over the INS's functions and placed 
responsibility over Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the same 
directorate. President Bush placed the final piece of the puzzle in 
2003 when he submitted a DHS reorganization plan that created the 
Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the primary mission 
of:

       Enforcing the full range of immigration and customs laws 
     within the interior of the United States.

  In that bygone era, House Democrats were committed to effective 
enforcement of our immigration laws. This was further evidenced by the 
fact that in 1996, a majority of Democrats voted for Lamar Smith's 
omnibus immigration enforcement legislation that was to be enacted as 
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
  That commitment has inexorably withered away. By 2005, only 36 House 
Democrats voted for Jim Sensenbrenner's Border Protection, Anti-
Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act. Just a few weeks ago, 
not one Democrat voted for either of two bills that would have 
resuscitated immigration enforcement--the Securing America's Future Act 
or the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act.
  House Democrats once worked collaboratively with Republicans to 
improve the effectiveness of Federal immigration enforcement. I hope 
that we will resume that soon. Now it appears that they are outraged 
when ICE has the audacity to actually enforce the laws that we have 
enacted.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote on both sides of the aisle 
for H. Res. 990. Let's honor the work of Barbara Jordan and our 
Republican and Democratic colleagues who joined together to create ICE, 
and the brave men and women of ICE to whom we owe so much.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution is the legislative equivalent of 
fiddling while Rome is burning. Our President takes to the world stage 
to side with a hostile foreign power over his own intelligence 
services. Here at home he engages in government-sponsored child abuse 
in the form of a family separation policy that continues to terrorize 
children as young as 6 months.
  This nonbinding resolution before us would do nothing to bring about 
a fair and just immigration system. In fact, it would do nothing at 
all. It is just a meaningless political stunt to change the subject 
from the international and domestic shame unleashed on us by President 
Trump.
  The President imposed the family separation policy, and his 
administration never even considered how to ensure that the children 
would eventually reunite with their families. Now, nearly 3,000 
children remain separated, and they do not know when, or even if, they 
will ever see their parents again. Many of these children were ripped 
from the arms of their mothers and fathers, and their anguish is 
unimaginable.
  But this bill would do nothing to reverse this disastrous and cruel 
family separation policy. It would do nothing to ensure that parents 
and children are accurately tracked so that families can be reunited, 
and it would do nothing to address the horrendous conditions separated 
children are being subjected to.
  For example, 14-month-old Baby M--we must use a pseudonym--was 
separated from his mother for 85 days at 14 months and he returned so 
full of dirt and lice that it appeared he had not been bathed the 
entire time he was in Federal custody. His mother Olivia

[[Page H6488]]

says that he is not the same since they were reunited, and he cries 
whenever he does not see her out of fear that he might be left alone 
again.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a humanitarian crisis. We do not have the time 
to waste with political stunts like this bill while the moral fiber of 
our country is torn apart.
  I will be voting ``present'' on this bill, because I have no desire 
to play the Republican's immoral games right now. We have much more 
important things to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Higgins), who is the chief sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, for weeks now, the abolish ICE 
movement has been growing in popularity on the left with many Democrats 
embracing this radical policy stance.
  I find it extremely ironic that calls to abolish the Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement Agency come only 1 year after 159 House Democrats 
voted to pass landmark legislation introduced by my colleague, Chairman 
 Michael McCaul, reauthorizing ICE and other DHS agencies for the first 
time since their inception after 9/11.
  Mr. Speaker, calls to abolish ICE are reckless, dangerous to 
America's national security, and threaten the well-being of our ICE 
agents. As a member of the thin blue line, this attack on ICE is 
personal to me.
  The men and women of ICE serve as America's frontline defenders 
against human, drug, and weapons traffickers. ICE agents locate, 
arrest, and deport violent gang members and criminal aliens who 
threaten public safety.
  Last year alone, ICE arrested more than 127,000 criminal aliens 
responsible for: 76,000 drug offenses, 48,000 assault offenses, 11,000 
weapons offenses, 5,000 sexual assault offenses, 2,000 kidnapping 
offenses, and 1,800 homicide offenses.
  Further, ICE agents made more than 4,800 gang-related arrests, 
rescued 518 victims of human trafficking, and seized 1 million pounds 
of narcotics last year.
  The campaign against ICE is the latest rallying cry for open borders, 
the latest call to prioritize illegal immigrants over American 
citizens, and the latest shrill cacophony from the left to vilify and 
demonize frontline law enforcement in America.
  Democrats are making it very clear to the American people that they 
stand against efforts to secure America's borders. Americans 
overwhelmingly support law and order. I speak for a coalition of 
conservative Members of Congress as I introduce this resolution 
affirming support for ICE personnel and condemning the dangerous call 
from the left to abolish ICE.
  Let me state further that affirming support for ICE should not be the 
end of our efforts. We should be doing more to secure our borders and 
provide frontline defenders with the resources necessary to accomplish 
their mission, and we should end dangerous sanctuary policies.
  Today the House will vote on our resolution formally stating 
congressional support for ICE personnel and their mission.

                              {time}  1400

  Despite the rhetoric being pushed by the left, the American people 
support Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their service should be 
respected. Very soon, we the people will know where every Member of 
this Congress stands.
  Mr. Speaker, it saddens me to say it has been brought to my attention 
that some of my colleagues across the aisle plan to vote ``present'' on 
today's resolution. I would remind them that our constituents elected 
us as their voice in the people's House. We were not elected to be 
silent. The American people deserve to know where every Member of this 
body stands. To vote ``present'' on this resolution reflects fear. The 
American citizenry deserves a courageous vote.
  I urge my colleagues to look into their hearts, vote on this 
resolution reflective of your own deepest belief, and, as you do so, 
remember that we all have been elected to serve American citizens, 
American interests, and America's future.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lofgren), the ranking Democrat on the Immigration and 
Border Security Subcommittee.
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I support fair and humane enforcement of 
our immigration laws, but that is not what this resolution is about. It 
is nothing but a ploy to distract us from critical issues facing our 
country.
  A most urgent issue now is the need to reunify thousands of children, 
including babies, who were forcefully torn from their parents' arms at 
the border. Despite court orders requiring reunification, more than 
2,000 remain separated from their parents.
  This bill does nothing to address that humanitarian crisis, a crisis 
created by President Trump's so-called zero-tolerance policy.
  The bill does nothing, for example, to more quickly reunify children 
like Jefferson, a 6-year-old boy taken from his father after traveling 
together from Guatemala, seeking asylum. They were kept apart for 
almost 2 heart-wrenching months.
  When they were finally reunified 3 days ago, the traumatic effects of 
the separation were clear. Jefferson was unemotional, with a vacant 
look in his eyes. He thought, for those 2 excruciating months, that his 
father no longer loved him or that he was dead.
  Jefferson had a cough, bruises, and a rash all over his body. It is 
not clear whether Jefferson will ever fully recover emotionally.
  There are many more kids like Jefferson who remain separated from 
their parents.
  As Members of Congress, we can't sit on the sidelines as witnesses to 
government-sponsored child abuse. We must take concrete steps to end 
this tragedy and pass legislation to prevent it from ever happening 
again, and this resolution doesn't do that. This resolution does not 
even acknowledge the plight of babies separated from their mothers, nor 
does it make any recommendations for family reunification.
  This resolution is nothing more than a feeble attempt at political 
gamesmanship. The resolution shows the Republican majority is unwilling 
to solve our immigration crisis, just as they are unwilling to tackle 
rising healthcare costs, wage stagnation, a pending trade war, and the 
President's lovefest with Russia.
  With a little more than a week left before the August recess, the 
Republican majority is more interested in political games than actually 
governing.
  Rather than doing anything meaningful for the American people, we are 
wasting our time on a political stunt. It is just shameful. I refuse to 
play this game. I intend to vote ``present'' on this meaningless 
resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the former chairman of the House 
Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the selfless men 
and women who serve at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These brave 
individuals risk their lives every day to protect our Nation and 
enforce our laws. They deserve our admiration and support, not a 
``present'' vote.
  It is disgusting and unconscionable that Members of the political 
left, Members in this very Chamber, continue to denigrate these 
patriots. One prominent gubernatorial candidate declared ICE a 
terrorist organization. A House Member called ICE fascist. Another 
Member of this body said that ICE agents, who were just doing their 
job, were cowardly.
  I wish that I was making this up. Talk about shameful statements, 
talk about inflammatory statements to a law enforcement agency that is 
responsible for the internal enforcement of both our immigration and 
customs laws.
  Mr. Speaker, these attacks are utterly despicable. While #AbolishICE 
might make for a catchy bumper sticker for radical leftists, it is 
harmful to our law enforcement.
  Today, I join with my colleagues in supporting this resolution and 
commending ICE agents for their hard work.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, what is disgusting is for Congress to sit 
idly by while children are ripped from the arms of their parents and 
abused.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington 
(Ms. Jayapal).

[[Page H6489]]

  

  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, this is what it takes to have a debate on 
the floor about family separation.
  It is outrageous that my Republican colleagues are playing pure 
politics with a resolution that does absolutely nothing to address the 
most pressing crisis before us, which is the separation of 3,000 
children from their parents. It is about putting kids in cages and 
parents in prison who are seeking asylum.
  Mr. Speaker, in spite of court orders, this administration still has 
yet to reunite these children with their families, and I will tell you 
that these are parents who even have been denied the opportunity to 
speak to their kids for more than 10 minutes twice a week.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does nothing to prevent President Trump from 
again ordering enforcement agents to rip breastfeeding babies from 
their mothers' arms. This isn't just rhetoric. This happened numerous 
times under Trump's zero-tolerance, zero-humanity policy.

  In one case, for instance, an asylum seeker from Honduras reported 
that Federal agents took her daughter from her while she was 
breastfeeding in a Texas detention center. When she resisted, as any 
mother would--because I am a mother, I can say that, from the bottom of 
my heart--this mother was handcuffed, handcuffed for wanting to feed 
her baby.
  Stripping babies from the arms of their mothers is cruel and 
inhumane, and this body should be debating that policy, should be 
fixing that policy, instead of putting forward a ridiculous, do-
nothing, political resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to put their attention 
on real issues, instead of continuing to play games with children's 
lives.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to point out to 
my Democratic colleagues that every single one of them had the 
opportunity and every single one of them voted against H.R. 6136, which 
addressed this issue and a solution for DACA recipients. Every one of 
them voted against it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Scalise), the House majority whip.
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Virginia for 
yielding. I especially want to thank my colleague Congressman Higgins 
from Louisiana for his leadership in bringing this resolution to the 
floor.
  And what does the resolution do? It simply says that we stand behind 
our ICE agents, those brave men and women who are keeping America safe. 
These are the people on the front lines of removing terrorists from our 
country. These are the people who, by the way, last year alone, removed 
100,000 criminals from our country.
  And they want to vote ``present''? My colleagues on the other side 
are talking about voting ``present.''
  Mr. Speaker, when you look at the numbers, last year, ICE agents 
rescued or identified 518 victims of human trafficking. What if those 
ICE agents would have voted ``present'' that day instead of rescuing 
those victims of human trafficking? Luckily, Mr. Speaker, they didn't 
vote ``present.'' They showed up and did their job to keep America 
safe.
  What if, last year, Mr. Speaker, those ICE agents who rescued or 
identified 904 people who were sexually exploited children voted 
``present'' that day, instead of rescuing those 904 sexually exploited 
children? Luckily, they didn't vote ``present,'' Mr. Speaker. They 
showed up and did their job.
  We need to stand up for them. We need to stand up for what is 
important at keeping this country safe.
  Are we for open borders? Absolutely not.
  On this resolution, there is one choice, one button to hit if you 
support these men and women who are keeping us safe, who are keeping us 
from open borders. That vote is ``yes.'' Any other vote than a ``yes'' 
vote is for open borders and somehow not supporting these men and 
women.
  Let's look at what is resolved in the resolution. We express our 
continued support for those ICE agents. We denounce calls to abolish 
ICE. And we support efforts of all Federal agencies--State law 
enforcement, military personnel--who bring law and order to our 
Nation's border.
  The only vote on this resolution is ``yes.''
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds.
  Yes, every Democrat voted against H.R. 6136, which provided for 
indefinite detention of entire families, among other obnoxious 
provisions. So did many Republicans, thank God.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank the ICE agents for being present.
  It is unfortunate that our Republican colleagues are not present 
doing the business that cries out to be done.
  I am voting ``present'' on this resolution because it is a sham and a 
distraction. It is an outrageous attempt to hide the continued 
suffering of children behind a partisan attack on Democrats.
  This is exactly the kind of gotcha vote that alienates Americans from 
our government. It is as shameless as it is inappropriate. It is 
inappropriate because Republicans are not doing a single thing to 
address the crisis of children still separated from their parents, even 
after a court ruled that they need to be reunited.
  Democrats refuse to play the Republicans' game when it comes to 
children's well-being and the safety of those who come here seeking 
asylum. We are not falling for this trap, and you can say we are doing 
it as much as you want. Democrats support secure borders and honor the 
service of all whose lives are at risk in protecting our country and 
our people.
  I take a back seat to no one in the House over the years in 
supporting our law enforcement personnel, but we will neither be silent 
nor will we cease fighting to bring an end to the dangerous and 
inhumane policies of the Trump administration that are traumatizing 
families and children at our borders, which Senator McCain correctly 
called ``an affront to the decency of the American people.''
  Shame on the Republican House majority for putting such blatant 
partisanship ahead of the children. Shame on you for using our law 
enforcement agents as pawns in your political games.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining on 
each side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weber of Texas). The gentleman from 
Virginia has 6\1/4\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from New York has 
11 minutes remaining.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. McCaul), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the men and 
women of ICE who courageously serve our country every single day.
  Recently, ICE agents have been the targets of vicious name-calling 
and partisan attacks. Some have even described ICE as a terrorist 
organization. To make matters worse, some politicians in Washington are 
now calling on Congress to abolish ICE.
  But just last year, Mr. Speaker, an overwhelming bipartisan majority 
in the House, including Leader Pelosi, voted to authorize ICE into law 
for the first time. This kind of dishonest double standard is politics 
at its worst.

                              {time}  1415

  Abolishing ICE is a reckless and dangerous idea that jeopardizes the 
safety of American communities.
  ICE was originally formed after 9/11 to help secure our homeland.
  When I was a Federal prosecutor with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, 
ICE was instrumental in deporting potential terrorists on immigration 
violations. Today, ICE agents stop drug smugglers, murderers, human 
traffickers, and dangerous gangs like MS-13 along our border.
  In 2017 alone, ICE agents stopped almost 1 million pounds of 
narcotics, including opioids, from entering our country. This included 
7,000 pounds of heroin and 2,400 pounds of fentanyl. They arrested 
nearly 5,000 gang members and identified or rescued over 500 victims of 
trafficking.
  These are not just hollow statistics. These numbers represent the 
great work and positive impact that ICE has on people's lives.
  John Kennedy, the great President, a Democrat, talked about profiles 
in courage. I would argue a ``present'' vote is hardly a profile in 
courage.

[[Page H6490]]

  

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez), the distinguished gentleman and a member of 
the Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, when Democrats talk about immigrants, 
refugees, and asylum seekers, this is the mom and her children whom we 
are talking about. She is fleeing Central America to save the life of 
her children from violence, systematic corruption, extortion--yes--
rape, and kidnapping.
  But the other side wants to change the subject. On every TV screen 
this fall, Republicans will show pictures of tattooed gang members 
flashing gang signs, looking like murderers. We know. We get your 
strategy.
  You take your marching orders from Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson 
quicker than the President takes his marching orders from the Kremlin.
  In the same week that the President insulted the intelligence 
community of the United States, we are not going to let you insult the 
intelligence of the American voter. Immigrants, refugees, outsiders and 
outcasts, freed slaves, and survivors, just like this woman and her 
children, built this country.
  Some of us had our land stolen; some of us were stolen from our land; 
and some of us made a very smart decision that we had to get away from 
the land we were in so that we could survive. That is who we are. That 
is what America is.
  Every generation of Americans has had to withstand people in 
positions of power labeling the poor, the weak, the outsiders, and 
people of different races and ethnicities as criminals, threats, and 
the cause of all our problems, as the majority does today. Every 
generation of Americans has had to stand up to bullies and racists and 
power-hungry politicians and overcome their efforts to divide us as 
Americans.
  That is also the story of America's greatness: our resilience and our 
ability as a nation to overcome the worst instincts of some of our 
leaders. That is the story of America, and that is what we are doing 
today.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, when a magician performs, they often utilize 
misdirection as a way to deceive an audience. Wikipedia defines 
``misdirection'' as a form of deception in which the attention of the 
audience is focused on the one thing in order to distract its attention 
from another.
  Today, the Republicans are performing a cruel trick on the American 
people. The Nation is repulsed by President Trump's directives that 
have forced the separation of over 3,000 children from their parents at 
the Nation's border, placed children in cages, and terrorized children. 
As one 9-year-old victim said, he was treated like a prisoner and a 
dog. This is cruel, inhumane, and un-American.
  Rather than have Congress take up a directive to reunite children 
with their parents, the GOP is performing some misdirection to another 
issue, hoping that you won't notice that they will not stand up against 
the GOP's policy of family separation and putting kids in cages at our 
Nation's borders. Why? Because many of the GOP Members support the 
President's shameful actions.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Wisconsin an 
additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. POCAN. Now they want to play politics and misdirect your 
attention.
  I won't be complicit in their attempts. I will vote ``present'' today 
to be present for the children and parents separated at the border.
  Shame on you for terrorizing children and ignoring pleas to help 
them.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\3/4\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).
  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 990.
  The issue is not the law enforcement agencies or the personnel, but, 
rather, it is the administration's policies regarding enforcement.
  ICE has become a lightning rod for the anger, quite honestly, about 
President Trump's hardline immigration policies. Our number one goal is 
to defend our homeland. ICE officers and special agents perform a vital 
role each day to keep our country safe. I want to make sure that we 
clear up some confusion about what ICE does, what their functions are.
  ICE is split into two primary functions: one is the enforcement and 
removal operations, which is the one that enforces the Nation's 
immigration laws; the other, which is very, very important, is it 
investigates all types of cross-border criminal activities, which 
include financial crimes; money laundering; bulk cash smuggling; 
commercial fraud; intellectual property theft; cyber crimes; 
child pornography; human rights violations; human smuggling and 
trafficking; information, document, and benefit fraud; narcotics and 
weapons smuggling and trafficking; transnational gang activities; 
export enforcements; and international art and antiquity theft.

  Again, as has been mentioned, the good work that ICE has done in FY 
2017: 4,818 transnational gang members were arrested, over 11,000 
narcotics criminal arrests were made, and 904 sexually exploited 
children were identified and rescued. I know that for a fact because my 
brother has worked with ICE, the sheriff down there, Martin Cuellar, 
and they have saved some of the kids there.
  Again, the issue is not law enforcement agencies or personnel. It is 
not the men and women who are working there very hard every day, but it 
is, rather, the policies of the administration regarding this.
  Again, I would ask Members to please look at this legislation and 
support it.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa).
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, immigration is one of the more important issues that we 
must face around here. It is one we take seriously. This debate, sadly, 
is more about politics, in my view.
  Our decisions affect people's lives and America's future. We must 
stop these partisan ``gotcha'' bills, empty-messaging resolutions, and 
ideological hijacking of our policy discussions. Rather, we must come 
together and do our work and create a fair and effective immigration 
system, one that reflects our values.
  We must have and we need bipartisan, comprehensive immigration laws 
to fix our broken immigration system, much like was done in 2013. 
Unfortunately, it didn't pass. Then we must smartly enforce it.
  We have big challenges. We must take care of the Dreamers stuck in 
DACA limbo; we must reunite families who are separated, secure our 
borders--yes, we must--using every effective means possible; and we 
must bring undocumented neighbors out of the shadows.
  I will vote for this resolution, but it is not about abolish or 
support ICE.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from California an 
additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this resolution, but it is 
not about abolish or support ICE. I respect the need for interior and 
immigration enforcement, and I have concerns about how this 
administration is doing it.
  Enough of political games, catering to the loudest and most extreme 
voices in both parties. Let's check our ideology at the door. Let's get 
to work on bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform. That is what the 
people want us to do.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time remains for each 
side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 6\1/4\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Virginia has 2\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, here, the height of hypocrisy, the depth of 
duplicity. While this administration relentlessly, baselessly, and 
desperately attacks Federal law enforcement officials--the FBI, the 
Justice Department, our intelligence agencies--again and again, these 
same Republicans, so proud of law enforcement in one narrow area today, 
are silent. They stand by tweet-addicted Trump,

[[Page H6491]]

our President who, even this very day, has again denied that Russia 
poses any threat.
  Where is your resolution to defend the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation?
  Where is your resolution to defend NATO, which has been disparaged by 
this shameful President?
  No. What we have today is a shameless, spineless group of Republican 
congressional enablers who are enabling Trump, who totally ignore those 
dedicated to defending our borders from Russian aggression.
  These Republicans claim that we have so much more to fear from little 
infants and toddlers who come across our southern border and seek to 
escape gang and domestic violence and, yet, are torn by ICE from their 
mothers' embrace, than from a murderous Vladimir Putin.
  Of course we need immigration law enforcement and secure borders, but 
this resolution ignores many wrongs of ICE: hundreds of claims of 
harassment, sexual harassment, child separation, and an unresponsive 
bureaucracy. At the same time that they ignore those wrongs, they 
ignore the wrongs of Trump in impairing other Federal law enforcement.
  Trump's own intelligence chief, a lifelong Republican whom he 
appointed, warns that our democracy is under sustained Russian assault, 
yet they are silent.
  Trump is impotent in the face of Putin. We need to reject this 
complicity, the Trump child abuse, and the abuse of Federal law 
enforcement.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Democratic leader of the 
House.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, this is really a very sad day in the Congress of the 
United States because we are ignoring the needs of children. As a 
mother of five children--I had five children in 6 years, so lots of 
little babies all around the house all the time, lots of joy--and 
understanding the connection between parent and child, and being a 
grandmother of nine now, I can't even imagine why the Republicans think 
it is a good idea to move forward with a bill that does nothing to 
unite families, to stop the separations, and to have the reuniting of 
families in a way that is humane--not to reunite and detain in prison, 
in detention, but to unite in a way that honors the humanity of 
America.
  In church on Sunday, the sermon was about not being an enemy of 
humanity. Some of the activities that are happening now in relation to 
these children are actions that qualify as enmity to humanity.
  What we have: 2,000 children remain separated from their parents, 
locked away in Federal custody and living in a state of terror and 
trauma.
  This is a picture of a little boy being confronted by an armed 
official. Do we have any idea what the impact is on that child?
  Republican leadership pushed multiple antifamily bills that would 
have made the horrific situation worse for children by enshrining the 
President's outrageous mass deportation agenda as the law of the land 
with his zero-tolerance policy. We should have zero tolerance for that 
policy.
  My Republican colleagues have voted again and again against actions 
to force a vote on a bill that would require the government to reunite 
families, and now you are promoting a new political stunt, wasting the 
country's and the Congress' time with a meaningless vote on a 
nonbinding resolution that does nothing to protect the children and end 
the cruel crisis that President Trump has created.

                              {time}  1430

  This resolution does nothing to prevent the separation of babies from 
their mothers. You are parents. You know, in the night, if you hear a 
sound from the room down the hall, that connection is something beyond 
material. It is spiritual. It is about parent and child, mother and 
child, father and child, and now we are going to rip that apart.
  It does nothing to prevent the separation of children with 
disabilities from their parents and caregivers. It does nothing to 
provide legal counsel to children in immigration court, including 
little babies who cannot even yet verbally communicate.
  For example, Johan. Earlier this summer, a 1-year-old boy named Johan 
appeared in court without his parents--1 year old. He played with a 
toy. He drank from a bottle. Then he cried hysterically, because he did 
not have his mother or his father there to comfort or care for him. The 
immigration judge even reported that he was ``embarrassed to ask'' if 
little Johan could understand the proceedings. The judge is asking a 1-
year-old child taking a bottle if he can understand the proceedings.
  What sort of administration sends a 1-year-old child into a courtroom 
alone to make his case? This resolution is an assault to little 
children like Johan.
  Congress should be working day and night to protect these traumatized 
children. Do you know the toll that you are taking on these children? I 
wish you would listen to the representatives of the Society of 
Pediatric Doctors and what they have to say about this, pediatricians, 
what they have to say about this.
  We should be working day and night to ensure the President can never 
again enable children to be ripped from their parents' arms. Democrats 
will continue to fight for families.
  Here is the thing I found very sad, because it was almost a year ago, 
say, 10 months ago, when I was informed by the administration that they 
were going to separate children from their parents. This is not 
something that has emerged. This is a decision that was made.
  They said, these parents, especially the moms they were talking 
about, are unfit mothers because they have chosen to take their 
children across the desert, which is very dangerous. That makes them 
unfit.
  Unfit? Really? If their choice is to stay home and be murdered, be 
raped, be victims of gang violence, and they are coming to find solace 
or refugee status? They are unfit, I was told by the administration, 
and we know better what is good for the children. We are going to take 
the children and send them to foster care or whatever--or whatever--
foster care or whatever, taking children from their parents, as a 
decision of national policy.
  Around that same time, we had a hearing--well, it was earlier. It was 
on the Muslim ban, so it was more like over a year ago, and the 
American Association of Evangelicals testified in that hearing. It was 
a Democratic hearing, because the Republicans would not have that 
hearing. They said that the U.S. refugee resettlement program is the 
crown jewel of American humanitarianism, the American Association of 
Evangelicals--the refugee resettlement program, the crown jewel of 
American humanitarianism.
  So how is it that it can be so obvious to so many people that we are 
humanitarian, that all of these children are God's children, that all 
of them have a spark of divinity? Mr. President, they have a spark of 
divinity, and you do, too.
  So let us all act on our and their spark of divinity and treat them 
with the level of respect that they deserve and not use children as a 
political shield for some other agenda.
  This isn't about whether you support ICE or not. By the way, I will 
just close on this. On this subject, I want to remind our Republican 
colleagues that Democrats have been strong on protecting our borders 
all along. You recall after 9/11, a commission was formed, the 9/11 
Commission. It took a couple of years to make recommendations. It took 
a while to make recommendations--a distinguished nonpartisan, 
bipartisan commission. It presented its recommendations in the summer 
of 2004.
  The Republicans in Congress controlled the Congress at the time, and 
they would not take up those recommendations, which were about 
protecting our country.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York may remember it, because he 
has been a champion on this issue for such a long time, and since his 
district was affected by 9/11, in the forefront of that fight for us, 
to form a commission to begin with but also to

[[Page H6492]]

fit--it took us, until the Democrats took control of the Congress, in 
2006--the first bill that we put on the floor, H.R. 1 in the new 
Congress, was to adopt the 9/11 Commission recommendations to keep the 
American people safe, protect and defend, which is our oath of office.
  So don't make it look like you are either for protecting the border 
or not. This is about being enemies of humanity, by taking children 
away from their parents, keeping them separated, and when they unite 
them, to keep them under detention. It is not the crown jewel of our 
humanitarianism.
  I urge a ``no'' vote. I am going to vote ``present'' on it, because 
they will use it politically, use it politically, use it politically. 
Vote ``present'' or however anyone wants to vote, but understand what 
it is.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Montana (Mr. Gianforte).
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, the men and women of ICE work every day to make our 
country and our communities safer. They secure our borders. They 
enforce our laws. They protect our safety. And I stand with them.
  America's borders have been too open for too long. Drug cartels, 
dangerous gangs, and human traffickers exploit our weak borders and 
bring crime to our Montana communities. As America and Montana face an 
epidemic of drug abuse and addiction, ICE agents seized nearly 1 
million pounds of illegal drugs last year, including nearly 2,400 
pounds of fentanyl and 7,000 pounds of heroin.

  ICE agents arrested more than 127,000 criminal aliens last year. 
These criminals were charged with weapons offenses, drug crimes, gang-
related activity, sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder.
  Now, some of my friends across the aisle have called for abolishing 
ICE. Abolishing ICE is a reckless idea. Abolishing ICE would embolden 
violent criminals, like members of the vicious MS-13 gang, intent on 
doing us harm. Abolishing ICE would jeopardize the safety and security 
of our Montana communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose abolishing ICE. And, Mr. Speaker, I 
proudly stand with ICE agents who are dedicated to making our Nation 
and Montana safer and more secure.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).
  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Nadler.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree with Mr. Gianforte and with Mr. Cuellar. We have 
outstanding men and women in Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I am 
not going to do anything to disparage the many good men and women that 
we have, but I will never, never support these abominable policies 
coming out of the Trump administration that tear families apart, that 
these men and women are having to implement because the White House has 
decided they are going to go into the immigrant communities and tear 
them apart.
  This is a piece of legislation that is not necessary, and I say that 
to my friends on the Republican side. We support the good men and women 
in law enforcement as Democrats, but I will not support any of these 
policies or even look like I am supporting any of the immigration 
policies of this President. They are terrible, and they are hurting 
this country.
  I urge a vote of ``present'' on this particular piece of legislation.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining on 
each side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Virginia has 1 minute 
remaining. The gentleman from New York has 2\1/4\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have only one speaker remaining to 
close the debate for our side. I believe we have the right to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to close. I yield the 
balance of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of many Americans, 
enough--enough of cruelty disguised as border security, enough of 
inflicting pain on children to make their parents stay away, enough of 
picking on the weak to show that you are strong.
  The people in this Chamber, who are the sons and daughters of 
immigrants from all over the world, should know the history of this 
Nation, and the fact that when the Irish came here, they were greeted 
with signs in New York and Boston that said: ``No Irish need apply.'' 
Those of German descent were said to be too dirty to be Americans. 
Italians were interned during World War II.
  Are we a Nation that learns from our mistakes, or are we not? Are we 
a country that adheres to our Constitution and strives to achieve the 
words inside it, or are we just pretending?
  This is a special Nation, a Nation that has been blessed by people 
who have come here from all over the world, yet the policies of this 
administration denigrate the history of this country and denigrate its 
future.
  These families must stop being separated. Just because you come up to 
a border or cross a border does not make you nonhuman. They should be 
treated as human beings, most especially by a country that is supposed 
to be a moral beacon for the world over.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McCarthy), the majority leader.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, last week, Democrats introduced a bill to abolish ICE. 
That is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. In doing so, I 
think we should first review the agency's record.
  As it turns out, ICE agents are on the front lines in the battle 
against crime.
  In 2016, they arrested nearly 2,000 human traffickers, criminals who 
are involved in modern-day slavery. You wanted to abolish that.
  Last year, they arrested more than 4,800 gang members, including more 
than 800 members of the MS-13, one of the most vicious gangs operating 
today. But you wanted to abolish that and put it into our communities.
  They intercepted more than 1 ton of fentanyl that was headed for our 
communities. Now, we all should know what fentanyl will do, because we 
just debated more than 50-some bills on this floor, because 172 people 
who are Americans will die today because of an addiction. Fentanyl is 
so deadly that just a few grams will kill you. But you wanted to 
abolish that, to allow it into our communities.
  Still, the Democrats say, not only will they want to introduce it, 
people will cosponsor it. But there is a problem, and I actually think 
there are two problems with this.
  The first problem is that most Americans disagree with you. They 
actually support ICE. According to a recent poll, just one in four 
Americans thinks we should abolish it.
  The second problem is that Democrats don't even agree with their own 
bill they introduced. They lack the courage of their so-called 
convictions, because when we offered the ability to bring up the bill, 
abolish ICE, that they put into the hopper and cosponsored, Democrats 
said they would vote ``no.''
  They wanted the glory of introducing a bill to the far left of their 
own party, but they didn't have the guts to accept the consequences. 
That is the kind of leadership that the Democrats have to offer.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. Speaker, I am even more confused listening to the Democratic 
leadership. I was here. I was on the floor. I listened, Mr. Speaker, to 
the leader on the Democratic side when she said: I recommend voting 
``no,'' or maybe vote ``present,'' or vote however you want.
  I am not sure what position she was requesting when she said all 
three. And I am not sure exactly what the author wanted to do when he 
put his bill across the aisle and asked the other Members of his own 
conference to cosponsor it, when he said he would vote ``no,'' when he 
had the offer to bring it up on the floor. Does that mean that every 
bill Democrats put across they really don't want to support? I am just 
not sure.
  Now, we are about to vote on a resolution of the opposite. We want to 
support the law enforcement officers of

[[Page H6493]]

ICE and will renounce the activist campaign against them.
  The danger these officers face is no joke. So for those in the back 
who would like to speak, Mr. Speaker, during this, I would ask that 
they get quiet for one moment, because six officers of ICE lost their 
lives defending those.
  The danger to these officers is real, and it is not a joke. Six 
officers have died in the line of duty:
  Special Agent Brian Beliso;
  Special Agent Timothy Ensley;
  Special Agent Lorenzo Gomez;
  Special Agent Scott McGuire;
  Special Agent David Wilhelm; and
  Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was killed by cartel hitmen in 
Mexico.
  These agents gave their lives in the line of duty. Thousands more of 
these agents risk their lives every day on our behalf.
  I want you to pause for one moment and I want you to think about 
those agents, think about those families, but think about those 
thousands of agents who are defending our border. What do they think 
about a bill that comes across the desk that says you want to abolish 
them? How much support do you want to give them? How much support do 
they feel when the leadership, Mr. Speaker, of the Democratic Party 
says: Vote ``no,'' vote ``present,'' just vote how you want?
  Well, do you know what? When they risk their lives and they stop 
another human trafficker of modern-day slavery and they save another 
child, I will vote to support them. Or when they stop an amount of 
drugs coming across and they save American lives, I will support them. 
Or when they stop MS-13 gang members from coming into any of our 
communities, I will support them. If only for this reason, agents 
deserve our gratitude and support.
  Mr. Speaker, I am confused. I understand there is this growing 
socialist movement in the Democratic Party, but when does this 
socialist new Democratic Party believe we should have no borders? I 
guess it is today.
  Mr. Speaker, that is not what the Americans have asked for, and that 
is not what America supports. But then again, Mr. Speaker, I am not 
sure I understand what the other side supports when they offer a bill 
and they ask people to cosponsor and then they won't even vote for it.
  That is why I am happy to offer Congressman Higgins' resolution and 
stand with the women and men of ICE, because I want a safer America. 
And for those who gave their life for us, I will stand with them, even 
if it means standing up against a new socialist Democratic Party.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for personal reasons, I cannot be 
present for the vote on H. Res. 990. If present I would point out that 
if Republicans were really serious about assessing the efficiency of 
ICE, they would have heeded the multiple calls from me and my 
Democratic colleagues to hold hearings on President Trump's dreadful 
family separation policy that has resulted in thousands of families 
being ripped apart, including the isolation of children and babies. As 
to the resolution's language that states ``supports the efforts of all 
Federal agencies, State law enforcement, and military personnel who 
bring law and order . . .'', I strongly support that and the important 
agency missions including of money laundering, narcotics 
investigations, cyber crimes, terrorism prevention, and customs 
enforcement. If present, I would have inquired of my Republican 
colleagues if they could get the same statement of support of Federal 
law enforcement agencies from President Trump, given his behavior and 
statements in Helsinki and the same disdain he has expressed for 
Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 990, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________